Welcome to the Realms of Imagination
Official website of Science Fiction and Fantasy Author Carol Hightshoe
The exiled daughter of a minor noble, Kyrianna finds herself being seduced by the Goddess Thynitic
– The Lady of Chaos – to serve as a Daughter of Chaos.
Even as she struggles to fight Thynitic’s call, she and her friends must also face the goddess to prevent Chaos from being unleashed across the realms.
The harder she struggles against the Chaos calling her, the more she finds herself drawn into its power until she must finally accept her destiny and serve the goddess to prevent the destruction of those she cherishes most.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
The Chaos Reigns Saga originally came about because I was able to get back into playing DnD. I asked the group I joined if they had objections to me using our adventures as the basis for some possible stories when I first joined and they all agreed there were no problems with me using the group.
Our first adventure together was a mishmash of things and it took me a while to wrangle it into shape and then find a way to weave into the whole series. Our next few adventures were done so they actually tied together and became the spark that would become the Chaos Reigns Saga.
Dan Horn the DM for the second adventure created a wonderful world in Shokar that he has let me play with and I want to thank him for doing so. The Chaos Reigns Saga includes adventures on Shokar (Dan's world) and Rhysia (mine) and characters created by the other players as well as Dan and myself.
The stories that have been created from the original adventure story lines have grown beyond a typical dungeon crawl into a saga of love and hate, good and evil, order and chaos, vengeance, retribution and forgiveness and how all of these are bound together and cannot ever be separated one from the other without destroying each other and everything around them.
We hope you will enjoy your visit to these realms.
Maps of the Worlds of Chaos Reigns
Stories Currently Available
Call of Chaos
Book One of the Chaos Reigns Saga
The exiled daughter of a minor noble, Kyrianna Dalynne, finds herself trapped in a temple dedicated to Thynitic, The Lady of Chaos. She and her companions, are charged with finding an ancient artifact before the ones guarding the portals out will allow them to leave. As their search continues, Kyrianna begins to question if there was a specific reason she and the others were brought to this place.
After the guardians claim the artifact as been secured, they offer to open the portals to allow the group to return to their homes. Instead of the familiar forest of Kilenter, Kyrianna finds herself in another world. Her companions from the temple arrive several days after her.
When one of the members is accused of murder, they are tasked with assisting Tristan Duvall, who must face the demons and ghosts of his family's past in order to claim his birthright as a nobleman of the city of Raspa. Kyrianna finds herself attracted to the young man and facing the difficult decision of accepting his invitation to remain with him or return to her own home.
Chaos Embraced
Book Two of the Chaos Reigns Saga
Nowhere in all the worlds or planes is there no pain, torment or chaos. All we can do is accept those strikes which cannot be avoided and give back chaos and pain to those who offend. Kindness should be the only companion to pain and will increase the intensity of suffering and the chaos surrounding us. Do not ignore the sudden whim of compassion; let it always come, but only seldom as to give those who suffer a sense of hope. Hope is consort to chaos and torment is their offspring. Unending torment destroys pain and this in turn destroys the chaos that nurtures us. Act alluring to trap those who would never seek the Lady on their own. Confuse those that think they know the ways of the world around them. Bring pain and torment not only to those who enjoy it, or to those who deserve it, but also to the innocent and those who do not anticipate it. The lash, fire and cold are the three physical pains that never fail the devout. Love, jealousy and hatred are the three pains that should follow in the footsteps of her devout. Spread Thynitic's theology whenever pain is meted out and chaos swirls. Wherever pain is, there is Thynitic. Wherever chaos is, there is Thynitic. Embrace the pain and chaos. Embrace Thynitic. -- The Litany of Thynitic
Trapped in a place where they are constantly faced with new opponents and challenges, Kyrianna and her friends, will also have to face the Goddess Thynitic and her Chosen Torliana.
Kyrianna finds Thynitic whispering in her mind, calling her deeper into the chaos. In order to save her friends from the evil goddess, will she finally Embrace the Chaos and accept her place as a Daughter of Chaos or will she succeed in renouncing Thynitic forever? And if she does, what will the cost be?
The Road Into Chaos
Book Three of the Chaos Reigns Saga
With one of their friends being held by Thynitic, Kyrianna and her friends prepare for a journey into the Abyss to challenge Thynitic herself and rescue Brular.
Each member of the group, is given a vision that leads them to different parts of Shokar seeking aid.
Jerietlan seeks out Ferdinand an exiled priest of Mykaylene, and guardian of the Hammer of Forging. What is the secret of the Hammer and what promises will Jerietlan have to make to gain the aid of a priest who is losing himself to the Chaos trapped in the Hammer?
Andrinor watches as one of the last dragons in Shokar dies, then finds himself as a prisoner of the Fifth Sword of Tormasus. Can he earn his freedom back in the arena and will it be in time to go with his friends?
Falden seeks the aid of the Circle of Mages in Gormanghast and finds from Cassandra Shindar that another great war is coming, one even they fear will destroy Shokar. He is charged with not only rescuing Brular, ut making sure Torliana also survives--if she doesn't, then Cassandra will make sure Kyrianna is taken back to Thynitic.
Hendandra finds herself on the Isle of Justula - home of the Halflings, a race who hates the humans who have enslaved them. How can she convince them to help when their laws prevent any contact with outsiders?
Kyrianna finds a young woman living among the ruins of Mt. Veri and offers to take her to Irrmar and the temple of Hellavar. The girl brings with her the Fourth Book of Law--written by Brular. But, even with the recovery of this relic, the Keeper of the Flames of Irrmar still refuses to give them any aid.
Myrith remains in Irrmar as the others travel, worrying and training.
Before they leave, Kyrianna finally realizes her true feelings for Tristan and promises she will return to him.
Chaos Challenged
Book Four of the Chaos Reigns Saga
FOR A FRIEND
Those were Hendandra's words when the group was asked to go to the Abyss to rescue Brular from Thynitic.
Now they find themselves facing the horrors of that cursed place, along with nightmares from their own past as they struggle to reach the Lady of Chaos' citadel.
The closer they get to their goal the more dangerous their journey becomes and another deity enters the game--one who says she opposes Thynitic, but whose actions indicate she also wants to stop Kyrianna and her friends from facing the Lady of Chaos.
Even as she tries to fight her destiny as a Daughter of Chaos, Kyrianna finds herself being drawn deeper into Thynitic's plans.
Will she finally be able to separate herself from her destiny when she faces Thynitic or will the Lady of Chaos finally be able to claim her soul?
Still to Come
Chaos Bound
Book Five of the Chaos Reigns Saga
After returning from the Abyss, Kyrianna and her friends find time to catch their breath and deal with other things in their lives other than the Lady of Chaos and her plots.
Even without Thynitic threatening them directly there are still dangers to face as they prepare for there next challenges:
Andrinor returns to Rhysia as he seeks a way to return Ghainaess' Children to Shokar.
Falden returns to face the Circle of Mages and Cassandra when he challenges her for her position on the Circle in order to force the Circle to acknowledge their hand in creating the Blooded.
Kyrianna risks the dangers presented by the Reverie in order to speak to the elves of Shokar about opening a portal from their home to the home of the Dawn elves of Rhysia.
Myrith enters the Coliseum to complete the training all new novices go through and then finds herself going to the Arena to train with the Fifth Sword.
New challenges face the group all while the threat of Thynitic still follows them.
Click HERE to read the first chapter
The Artifact of Order and Chaos
Book Six of the Chaos Reigns Saga
After a year of not having Thynitic in their lives, the group finds the relative peace of their lives disrupted when Kyrianna, now married and pregnant, returns to Shokar at the direction of Frayrith.
One of the Midnight Elves approaches Kyrianna with information regarding the First Temple, the Book of Chaos and a plea to help find the Artifact of Order and Chaos in order to restore Neysinal, Consort of Chaos and Lord of Order and in doing so redeem Thynitic.
Kyrianna must finally accept her destiny as a Daughter of Chaos but will she willingly serve as a vessal for Thynitic or will Neysinal be lost and with him Balance?
Chaos and Order Joined (tentative title)
Book Seven of the Chaos Reigns Saga
In the seventh book, the Faithless finally return to Shokar to destroy all those who follow the gods.
The Gods have been working to find those who will lead their armies against the Faithless. Will they be up to the task and will the costs be.
(This book is not guaranteed to be written at this time - but it is on the planning board)
Short Stories
The Legacy of Chaos
The stories in The Legacy of Chaos series revolve around the history of the Daughters of Chaos starting with Carrinna - the first of Thynitic's Daughters through Kyrianna - the last of Thynitic's line.
When all of the stories are completed they will be put together in a collection.
Chaos' Daughter
This will be Carrinna's story. She is the first Daughter of Chaos and her actions will be the catalyst for what is to come.
(Story is still in the planning stages)
Chaos Unleashed
Dywnia, Speaker for Thynitic, seeks allies to fight the humans who are threatening to destroy the forest of Kilenter and the elves who live there. When the Dragon Council agrees to not stop those who wish to join her, she sees her chance to destroy the humans.
But, will the Chaos she commands protect the elves of Kilenter as she hopes or will something more dangerous be unleashed?
The Broken Blade
Delavan is a young man who only wants a chance to join the town guard and defend his home against the evil elves who regularly attack it. For ten years he has tried to hide the fact he was born with mage powers, but an accident in the training arena results in his arcane powers killing a fellow recruit. His only hope is the Arms Master of the guard who stands by him and the now broken blade that once belonged to his grandfather - a knight of Oliaric the Lord of Order and Justice.
Daughter of Chaos
Arielle is a young elf ranger and a follower of Frayrith, the Lady of the Forests.
When she decides to try and discover her past, against the advice of Frayrith, she ends up as a slave in the temple of Thynitic, The Lady of Chaos. She will eventually come to serve Thynitic as her Daughter of Chaos.
When the goddess directs her to return to the forests, Arielle calls a chaos storm down on an elven community, destroying not only the elves but the human ranger who had been her foster father and one of Frayrith's children - a unicorn.
In her grief she renounces the Lady of Chaos who curses her and her children. But even with this renunciation will she be able to return to Frayrith and the forests?
Descent Into Chaos
Torliana is an elf who seeks the ways of order.
She enters the temple of Hellavar - Lord of Order and Fire to train as a monk in his service.
Despite four years of training, she still finds herself desperate for acceptance in the temple and when she fails in her testing to become a Flame Dancer she is seduced by Thynitic, The Lady of Chaos.
The Lady of Chaos uses the elf to call a chaos storm down on the temple destroying it and all those who are there. Torliana confronts the High Priest, Brular, whom she feels rejected her, and sends him to Thyntic's Citadel in the abyss to be a toy for the goddess' Chaos demons as she accepts her place and begins her own Descent into Chaos.
Order In Chaos
Brular has served Hellevar since he was a young child, now he has risen to be named Keeper of the Flame for the secluded temple of Mt. Veri. But, the paradox of an beautiful elf who also seeks to follow the path of order will lead Brular to face Thynitic the Lady of Chaos.
Trapped in the Chaos of Thynitic and her torments, will Brular's faith be enough to sustain him as he seeks a way to escape and avenge himself on the elf who betrayed him.
In the Shadow of Chaos
This will be Kyrianna's story and her first exposure to the Destiny she will eventually have to face.
(This story is still in the planning stages)
Champions of Chaos
The stories in The Champions of Chaos series are the stories of each of the characters in the Chaos Reigns Saga. This collection will also include In the Shadows of Chaos from the Legacy of Chaos series.
When all of the stories are completed they will be put together in a collection.
Born From Chaos
Myrith had never know any life but that of a bar wench. One day she is taken forcefully from the bar by the troop commander of Lord Lavial, the elf tyrant who rules her land. While being interrogated by her captor, he decides he must bring her to the attention of the elf lord personally.
She is "rescued" by a couple of rogues who are trying to spy out the defenses of the garrison, but will they try to use her for their own purposes? And just why would the troop commander believe the tyrant Lord Lavial would be interested in Myrith?
Stolen From Chaos
Hendandra is a thief living in the town of Raspa. When she picks the pocket of a mage she ends up getting more than she bargained for when he convinces her to help him recover some religious relics taken from a temple of Rhyra by the followers of Ballan - the Goddess of Dark magic.
Heart of the Dragon
Andrinor is a young warrior from the Dragon Flame Mountains. He has asked to marry Prelari, the granddaughter of the village matriarch.
Before the current Matriarch will give her blessings, she tells him he has been called by their goddess, Ghainaess, The Great Mother of all dragons, to fulfill his destiny. He must travel to a another plane to fight a great evil that threatens the children of Ghainaess, but before he can find his destiny he must first prove he has the Heart of the Dragon.
Other stories planned in the Champions of Chaos series
Thief of Chaos (Planning Stages) [Laraf's story]
To Face the Chaos (Planning Stages) [Jerietlan's story]
Hammer of Chaos (Planning Stages) [Nirev's story]
To Balance Chaos (Planning Stages) [Vyroris's Story]